IT Degree Apprentice Review

My role involves a variety placements in different areas in the business, every three months. This gives me a huge range of opportunity to learn new skills, meet new people and gain valuable experiences across the BMW Group Business. My role is centered around business analyst and project management tasks within the IT department and other business departments to support our UK businesses.

During my time with the BMW Group I have been given plenty of opportunities to learn and develop new and pre-existing skills. This has included both technical/job related skills, but mainly my interpersonal and professional skills, which has been really beneficial in helping me when I'm moving teams every three months. This is further supplemented by my University course, which the company has helped support me with, to allow me to achieve my degree at the end of the four years.

My time at the BMW Group has been extremely varied, with constant exposure to new teams/ people both within IT and the business. I have been able to visit many of our Logistics and Manufacturing sites in the UK, which has really helped with my understanding of the company and has been very interesting and enjoyable. The company is very flexible with the work/ life balance, everyone I've worked with has been extremely friendly and helpful, always allowing me to feel included and valued, which I've really appreciated.

My Apprenticeship at the BMW Group has been organized and structured very well. I undertake new placements every three months, in a new team, with regular exposure to new experiences and training around IT and business topics. My mentor and placement managers have been very supportive and inclusive, allowing me to feel like not just an Apprentice, but an actual member of the team and a valued employee.

The support from my employer has been of the highest quality. My mentor and placement managers always make themselves available no matter what I need, encouraging me to be fully transparent and to speak up if I believe something could be done better, or if there's something I'd like to be more involved with. My experience of the BMW Group's HR has been the exact same, always accessible when I need and always happy to help with any problems I have.

I am allocated 20% of my time to dedicate to University studies, which for me personally is attending University lectures on a Wednesday at the University of Chichester. My employer is very supportive with allocating time at work, if I need time to work on my studies. My score for my employer would be 9/10 for this. However, my overall score for this question is lower, due to the varied support I receive from the actual University, this being the University of Chichester. My personal experience of this University has been satisfactory, as many of the lecturers tend to be unsupportive and just there to read off PowerPoint slides. The course itself is also not very related to my actual day to day at the BMW Group, usually containing outdated topics with no real relevance to companies operating in 2022. This is why my score of the University of Chichester as a training provider is so low.

I have found there to be some benefits of the qualification I am studying with the University of Chichester. Mainly around soft skills I have been taught and developed on the course, which has helped me professionally in my job role. However, quite a few topics are not completely relevant to my role at work, which I believe could be improved.

Over my time at the BMW Group, there have been quite a few opportunities to get involved with extra-curricular activities. The ones I've personally enjoyed, have been being able to network and get involved in team building activities with other Apprentices and Interns across the local and wider UK BMW business. Unfortunately due to Covid restrictions, activities at work have been affected, but now that Covid restrictions have been lifted, this is improving.

Yes

The BMW Group is a great company to work for and is a very high quality employer. They offer incredible benefits, like flexible working and also have many additional benefits available to employees, like an unmatched car and pension scheme. As well as offering lots of resources and support to help with an individuals progression and development. The people I've worked have been very friendly and supportive, which makes working much more enjoyable and interesting.

Have a look at the Apprenticeships on offer by the BMW Group, as there are so many due to the size of the BMW Group, creating opportunities for everyone no matter your interests. The company culture is very inclusive and welcoming, which allows for a friendly work environment that is rewarding and enjoyable for everyone. Just be yourself when applying as the companies core values are trust and transparency, which will be greatly appreciated by the individual interviewing you. Take every opportunity offered to you, as you won't regret it!